Machine for operating upon shoes



Apfifl 15, 194? R H, W N 2,418,891

MACHINE FOR OPERATING UPON SHOES Filed Feb. 25, 1946 Patentecl Apr. 15, E947 2,ii,i

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR or asms tron stress Robert H. Lawson, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 25, 1916, Serial No. 64 fi39 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to machines for use in the manufacture of shoes and more particularly to an improved jack and mechanism for controllin the position of the shoe and jack relatively to means for operating on opposite marginal portions of the shoe bottomas the point of operation is transferred along the shoe.

The invention is herein disclosed as embodied in an automatic side lasting machine of the same general description as the machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,999,298, granted April 30, 1935, and No. 2,201,866, granted May 21, 1940, upon applications filed in the name of the present inventor. Thi machine is provided with a jack arranged to receive a last upon which are assembled a shoe upper and a ribbed insole and with a pair of lasting units having upper engaging grippers and insole engaging presser feet for guiding the grippers by lateral contact with the rib of the insole. The jack is mounted to permit a lengthwise feeding movement of the shoe with relation to the operating devices to transfer the point of operation along the shoe and is constructed in such manner as to permit tipping or rocking movement of the shoe about an axis extending lengthwise of the shoe to bring it into the proper operating position in which the lasting units Will act most effectively on the shoe, the rocking movement about the lengthwise axis being effected by the pressei' feet as they engage the ribbed bottom surface of the insole.

To maintain the pressure of the presser feet and the operation of the lasting units uniformly on both sides of a shoe which is designed with a substantial over-all lengthwise curvature, the mounting of the shoe supporting means in the jack is arranged for transverse movement with relation to the lengthwise axis of the pivotal mounting for the shoe supporting means in the jack, and mechanism is provided for changing the position of the shoe supporting means relatively to its pivotal mounting during operation of the machine on a shoe so that an eifective balance will be obtained between the tensions applied by the lasting grippers and the pressures of the presser feet at opposite marginal portions of the shoe, the distances of the presser feet from said axis being maintained approximately equal at all'times. After operating upon a right shoe of substantial curvature, a left shoe may be lasted-efiectively in the machine of the patents by producing relative movement between the shoe supporting means and its pivotal mounting in the jack frame along a path of opposite curva- 35 posite feet.

. 2 v ture. In some instances, however, with shoes of greater than usual over-all lengthwise curvature, the operation of the position changing" mechanism is insuflicie'nt to secure balanced tensions 5 and pressures simultaneously along opposite marginal portions of the shoe. If simple adjustments are made in the position changing mechanism, proper results may again be obtained in operating upon either a left or a right shoe but, if a change is made for a shoe of the opposite foot,

further manual adjustments are necessary to obtain the desired results.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved jack and shoe supporting and actuating structure particularly adapted for use in machines of the type referred to, in which adjustments for substantial change in over-all shoe curvature may be accomplished efiectively' without the necessity of making furtlier manual adjustments for shoes of opposite feet once the proper relations have been determined. Further and more general objects are to simplify and improve the operation of automatic side lasting and other similar machines.

With these and other objects in view, the embodiment of the resent invention in the illustrated machine comprises shoe support position changing mechanism on the jack of an automatic shoe machine of the type disclosed in the patents above noted, provided with devices for rotation, and manual means is provided for turn ing the dam to render a different portion thereof effective when a right shoe is removed from the shoe supporting means and a left shoe substituted. In the machine embodying the present invention. the cam is formed with two relatively shiftable parts corresponding to the portions effective on right or left shoes. Thus, a simple and easily accomplished change in position of the separate cam parts may be made,- each with out efiecting the other and, once the proper adjustments for a particular style of shoe have been made, no further changes are necessary.

Other features of the invention consist in novel and improved devices, constructions and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed which, together with the advantages to be obtained thereby, will readily be understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a view in right side elevation of the lower portions of the lasting units and the upper portion of the jack in an automatic side lasting machine such as disclosed in inventors Patent No. 2,201,866, with a shoe indicated in position during operation of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a left shoe of relatively large over-all lengthwise curvature, indicating the Fig. 5 is a detail view of a cam included in I the position changing mechanism of Fig. i; and Fig. 6 is a sectional View of the cam taken along the line VIVI of Fig. 5.

- ing the pressures exerted by the shoe on the Except as hereinafter described, the machine illustrated in the drawings is of the same construction, arrangement and mode of operation as v lasting units include work guiding presser feet I I0 acting against the bottom surface of an insole 12 of a shoe mounted on a last Hi and supported on a jack, the position of which is changed successively as the operation of the lasting units progresses along the shoe. include upper tensioning grippers i5, into positions determined by the presser feet 153, the presser feet being in turn pressed yieldingly apart and being guided by the inner surfaces at opposite sides of the sewing rib on the insole [2, as illustrated in Fig. 1. V

The jack in which the shoe is supported comprises a main frame 18 pivotally mounted at its lower end on the base of the machine and provided with shoe supporting means, which in turn is pivotally mounted in the main jack frame. The shoe supporting means is in the form of a U-shaped cradle member 26, at either end of which is a shoe engaging and clamping device. To mount the shoe supporting cradle in the frame, the frame has a pair of pivots, one of which is indicated at 22. The pivots 22 are intended to have their axis located approximately in line with the length of a shoe mounted in the cradle member. On account of the inherent curvature of all shoes, however, it is necessary to change the relationship'of the shoe and the The lasting units also movable axis of the mounting pivots as the operation on the operation on a shoe progresses, the shoe supporting cradle member is moved relatively to presser feet iii in a manner to insure proper guiding action of the presser feet on the shoe and to avoid the possibility of escape of one of the presser feet from engagement with the sewing rib on the shoe by climbing over the top of the rib.

The mechanism for changing the position of the axis of the pivots 22 acts to move the cradle member 2% laterally along the pivots in the upper ends of the jack frame and includes a pair of vertical arms, one of which is indicated at 26, secured to a horizontal shaft 28 carried in bearings on the jack frame it. Also connected to the shaft 28 i a downwardly extending arm 30, having a cam follower roll 32, engaging a cam 34, rotatable on the jack frame. The cam 34 is secured to a shaft 36, journaled in the jack frame {Sand provided at its outer end with an arm 38 and a spring-pressed locking plunger til arranged to engage either of two holes 4! located at diametrically opposite points in a disk 52 secured to the hub of a pulley 44 on the shaft 38. For rotating the cam 34, the pulley a4 is surrounded by a cord Q6 actuated by mechanism, more fully disclosed in the patents above referred to, located in the base of the machine. The cord 55 is so actuated that the shaft is given a partial rotation once in each direction during each operation of the machine. One half of the'cam 34 is shaped to impart the proper relative movement between the cradle 28 and the pivots 22 for a right shoe, and the other half of the cam imparts the proper movement for a left shoe, a quick interchange being rendered possible by withdrawing the locking plunger from one of the holes in the disk 32, rotating the shaft 36 and allowing the plunger to enter the opposite hole in the disk. As thus far described, the machine is the same as that of the patents noted.

The cam of the patented machine corresponding to cam 3d, as ordinarily constructed, is shaped to provide proper movement of the shoe supporting cradle 25 relative to the pivots 22 to maintain the pivots approximately midway between the presser feet at all times While operating upon a shoe of average lengthwise curvature. If, however, a shoeis being operated upon which has an extreme lengthwise curvature, such as encountered in an orthopedic style shoe, the relative movement of the shoe supporting'cra'dle and the axis of the pivots 22 may not be suficient to balance the upward pressures of the shoe against the presser feet 18 and, accordingly, may cause twisting and displacement of the shoe from proper operating relationship to the lasting units.

The difficulty encountered in operatin upon a shoe of extreme lengthwise curvature is illustrated in connection 'with Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. In these figures, the left and right shoes, respectively, of a pair 48, 54 of the orthoedic type are shown, bottom up, in the positions assumed with relation to the pivot axis for the shoe support on the jack. The left, shoe 48 has such a degree of curvature along its length that, when mounted along the shoe support 'and presented to the machine, the mid-point, indicated at 69 (Fig. 1), between the presser feet H! of the lasting units will lie along the shoe bottom at successive positions as the operation progresses along the shoe, the path of which is midway between the sides of the sewing rib. To insure that the axis of the pivots 22, indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 at 52, will coincide with the mid-point against the other presser foot.

of the shoe.

5 between the presser feet at all times, the path of movement imparted by the cam of the'position changing mechanism to the shoe supporting cradle is made to follow substantially the path of movement of the mid-point 49 along the shoe bottom. The range of movement imparted by the cam when a right shoe is presented to the machine is the same but in reverse form. I

At the starting position of the machine along the shank portion of a shoe of extreme lengthwise curvature, the pivot axis 52 may not, however, coincide exactly with themid-point between the .presser feet, as illustrated bythe left end of a broken line 58. Accordingly, the upward pressure exerted by the insole against one of the presser feet I will be much greater than that exerted As a result, the slightest irregularity in the surface of the insole may cause the shoe to jump and twist about the pivots 22 sufficiently to disengage the sewing rib at one side of the insole from contactwith the corresponding presser foot. Continued operation of the machine thereafter will be faulty since the lasting units will immediately separate to the greatest possible extent and continue in this relationship until the end of the lasting'operation. The central part of the line 5 shows thatthe cam 34, which is shaped to compensate fora shoe of averagelengthwise curvature, may even fail to move the shoe relatively to .the pivot axis sufficiently to cause the pivot axis 52 of the shoe supporting cradle to lie within the space between the two sides of the rib on the insole along the shank Thus, if the pivot axis 52 intersects the sewing rib along the shank of the shoe, as indicated by the central part of line 56 in Fig. 2, at the time of operation thereon, the upward pressure on both presser feet will be exerted at one side of the pivot axis 52 so that the shoe will definitely be twisted out of proper lasting position.

The same difficulties are encountered in performing lasting operations on the right shoe 54 of the pair, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

In shifting from a left to a right shoe, the looking plunger lil is withdrawn from the disk 42, and the arm 38 is given a rotation of 180 to disengage the cam roll 32 from that portion of the cam 34 which is shaped to give the proper movement to a left shoe and to engage the cam roll 32 with that portion of the cam shaped to move a right shoe. In shifting the cam 34 from one operating relationship of the cam roll 32 to another, the path of movement of the shoe relatively to the midpoint 49 is indicated by the broken line 56 in Fig. 3. This broken line 56 may intersect the lower sewing rib for a right shoe to the same extent that the line 50 intersects the upper sewing rib on the left shoe in Fig. 2.

In order to avoid thes dimculties during operations on both right and left shoes of a pair where the lengthwise curvature is of an extreme nature, according to the present invention the cam 34 has its hub secured in the usual way to the shaft 36 but is formed with a hollow drumlike shape and is provided with two relatively axially movable segmental portions 58 and so. The segmental portions 58 and 6t fit the outer surface of the hub and are adjustably clamped thereto by four cap screws 62. The cap screws 62 pass through slots 66 (see 6) running axially of the shaft along the length of the hub of the cam 34. When the cap screws 62 are loosened, the two segmental portions may be adjusted to shift the range of movement imparted by the position changing mechanism for the shoe supporting 6 means into the desired relationship with the axis 52 of theplvots 22. After shiftin the ranges of movement for a left and a right shoe with the desired adjustment, the cap screws 62 may be tightened to clamp the segmental cam portions in fixed positions.

In changing the positions of the segmental cam portions 58 and Gil of the cam 3% for a pair of orthopedic typeshoes with extreme lengthwise curvatures, the paths of shoe movement indicated by the broken lines 5 and are shifted in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows and 68, so that a new adjustment is established between the relative movements of left and right shoes and the pivot axis 52. With the new adjustment, the paths of movement of the pivot axis along the shoe bottom during operation on the shoe will be indicated by dot-dash, lines ill and T2 of the same shape as the lines 5:; and

56 but spaced therefrom by the lengths of the arrows-5ft and 6d. The spacings of the lines m and F2 are uniform along their lengths from the lines at and 555 but the relationships are such that the new lines"! and '52 lie more nearly along intermediate points between the sides of the sewing rib on the insole. Accordingly, the pres- -mental cam portions in this way, substantially equal pressures of the shoe against the presser feet will be maintained in spite of extreme shoe curvatures and, when shoes of average curvatures are again operated upon, a return adjustment may be made as quickly as the original one.

To enable unobstructed rotation of the cam in changing the machine for operation upon a left to a right shoe, after relative adjustment of the segmental cam portions 58 and til, the ends of the tracks in these cam portions are flared, as indicated in Fig. 4, so that the cam roll 32 may pass readily from one cam portion to the other regardless of the adjusting positions. Duringoperation of the machine, the cam is given a rotation of substantially less than so that the flared ends of the slots do not come into contact with the roll 32 in a way to result in inaccurate movement of a shoe.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and a specific embodiment having been descr bed. what is claimed is:

1. A machine for use in the manufacture of shoes, having devices for performing an operation progressively along opposite marginal portions of a shoe bottom, a jack frame, shoe sup porting means pivotally mounted in said frame for rocking movement about an axis extending lengthwise of the shoe, mechanism actuated during operation of the operating devices to change the position of the shoe supporting means relatively to its pivotal mounting on the jack frame, connections in the machine for actuating the position changing mechanism to cause the operating devices to act effectively on a right shoe,

7 l and manual means operable on said connections for causing the actuating devices to act effective- 1y On a left shoe, in combination with means for adjusting the position changing mechanism to enable the range of movement imparted by said mechanism during operation on a right shoe to be shifted independently of the range of movement imparted by said mechanism in operating upon a left shoe.

2. A machine for us in the manufacture of shoes, having devices for performing an operation progressively along the opposite marginal portions of a shoe bottom, a jack frame, shoe supporting means pivotally mounted in said frame for rocking movement about an axis extending lengthwise of the shoe, mounting means for enabling relative movement between the shoe supporting means and said axis during operation of the operating devices, mechanism including a cam on the jack frame actuated during operation of the operating devices to change the position of the shoe supporting means relatively to the axis of the pivotal mounting, connections in the machine for rotating the cam a part of a complete rotation to render one portion of the cam effective during each operation of the machine on a right shoe, and manual means operable on the connections for turning the cam to render a different portion thereof effective during each operation of the machine on a left shoe, in combination with means for adjusting the mechanism to shift the range of movement imparted between the shoe supporting means and the axis of the pivotal mounting by one portion of the cam independently of the range of movement imparted by the other portion of the cam.

3. A machine for use in the manufacture of shoes, having devices for performing an operation progressively along opposite marginal portions of a shoe bottom, a jack frame, shoe supporting means pivotally mounted in said frame for rocking movement about an axis extending lengthwise of the shoe, mechanism actuated during operation of the operating devices to change the position of the shoe supporting means relatively to its pivotal mounting on the jack frame,

connections in the machine for actuating the position changing mechanism to cause the operating devices to act effectively on a right shoe, and manual means operable on said connections for causing the actuating devices to act effectively on a left shoe, in combination with means for adjusting the position changing mechanism to shift the range of movement imparted by said mechanism in changing the relative position of the shoe supporting means for a right shoe and the axis of the pivotal mounting independently of the range of movement imparted by said mechanism after changing the relative position of the shoe supporting means for a left shoe, comprising a cam in said mechanism having separate portions movable relatively to each other.

4. A machine for use in the manufacture of shoes, having devices for performing an operation progressively along opposite marginalportions of a shoe bottom, a jack frame, shoe supporting means pivotally mounted in said frame for rocking movement about an axis extending lengthwise of the shoe, mechanism actuated during operation of th operating devices to change the position of the shoe supporting means relatively to its pivotal mounting on the jack frame, connections in the machine for actuating the position changing mechanism to cause the operating devices to act effectively on a right shoe, and manual means operable on said connections for causing the actuating devices to act effectively on a left shoe, in combination with means for adjusting the position changing mechanism to shift the range of movement imparted by said mechanism in changing the relative position of the shoe supporting means for a right shoe and the axis of the pivotal mounting independently of the range of movement imparted by said mechanism after changing the relative position of the shoe supporting means for a left shoe, comprising a cam insaid mechanism having a hub, two segmental portions shiftable axially along the hub, and means for clamping the shiftable portions in any of a number of positions axially of said hub.

ROBERT H. LAWSON. 

